Cup hanger

ABSTRACT

A hanger having a base portion and an article supporting portion which are parallel and extend in the same direction away from a connecting bracing portion, the base portion being securable to a first support with the bracing portion engaging a second support at right angles to the first support.

D United States Patet 1 3,568,850

[72] inventor 1 Joseph M. Rogers 383,092 5/1888 Baker 248/302 1845 Highcrest Place, Brooklehurst 508,861 1 1/ 1893 Bisel 211/106X Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada 1,717,133 6/1929 Welsh 211/181X [21] Appl. No. 811,315 1,972,505 9/1934 Wilson 248/26 [22] Filed Mar. 28,1969 2,230,975 2/1941 Gratz 211/71X [45] Patented Mar. 9,1971 2,778,588 1/ 1957 Capocci. 248/302X 3,154,196 10/1964 Loska 211/71 R 3,481,482 12/1969 Wilkens 211/57 [54] CUP .HANGE Prima Examiner-Nile C. B ers Jr.

' 2 Clams 4 Drawmg Flgs' AttornZ-Fetherstonhaugh a d C0. [52] U.S.Cl. 211/71, 248/303 [51] Int. Cl A47g 29/00 [50] Field of Search 211/71, ABSTRACT; A hanger having a base portion and an article 119, 181; 248,1 175v 219 supporting portion which are parallel and extend in the same direction away from a connectin bracin ortion, the base [56] References cued portion being securable to a first sfipport W ifl? the bracing por- UN T D STATES PATENTS tion engaging a second support at right angles to the first sup- 263,685 9/1882 Clark 211/106X port.

our HANGER My invention relates to cup hangers and more particularly, to bracket means for suspendingcups within a cupboard or the like.

When cups are hung in the cupboard, generally they are suspended from individual hooks secured to a shelf. These hooks must be properly spaced apart-so that the cups will not swing into contact with one another and perhaps crack or chip. There is an ever present danger that the cups may be accidentally dislodged from the hookssince someone reaching into the cupboard for another article is apt to brush against the cups and knock them off the very shallow gripping areas of the hooks. For these as well as other reasons, the use of hooks to hang cups is not entirely satisfactory, and hooks have other disadvantages as well. For example, it is a tedious and time consuming job to install the hooks and therefore most householders prefer to leave them in position permanently and this presents problems when it becomes necessary to clean or paint the cupboards.

SUMMARY OF- THE INVENTION The present cup hanger can be manufactured readily and economically from a single length of wire which is'shaped so that it can be secured in position'of use quickly and easily by means of a single fastening element. The hanger is attachable to a horizontal support so as to be braced against an adjoining vertical support. Thus a relatively small wood screw or the like can safely carry the load likely to be imposed on the hanger by a number of cups or heavy mugs. At the same "time, the single fastening element supports the device so that it cannot accidentally be moved out of proper alignment within the cupboard. It is a simple matter to remove the'hanger from the fastening element and this makes it much easier to clean or paint the surrounding surfaces of the cupboard. The hanger is supported in an out-of-the-way position and. occupies only a very small space and cups can be hung thereon or removedas required with little likelihood of being damaged.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, the numeral 10 indicates generally a hanger which conveniently can be secured to the underside of a cupboard shelf 11 in contact with a vertically disposed wall member or support 12 for said shelf. The hanger l0 is mounted to project outwardly from the support 12 substan-- tially parallel to both the horizontal shelf or support- 11 and a sidewall 13 of the cupboard on which door 14 is hung. A number of these hangers can be suitably' spaced apart along the underside of the shelf to support cups and/or mugs 15 by means of their handles 16.

The hanger indicated generally at 10 preferably is con-' structed of a single length of a heavy wire having some resilience but with sufficient stiffness to resist undue distortion. This rodlike material is shaped to provide an article supporting portion 17, a bracing portion 18, and a base portion 19, see particularly FIGS. 2 and 3.

The article supporting portion indicated generally at 17 is formed by folding the wire upon itself to provide a pair of side rails 20 which are connected at their outer ends by a crossbar 21. In FIG. 3, it will be seen that the horizontally disposed crossbar 21 is raised slightly about the transversely spaced pair of side rails 20 and that the ends of the side rails near the crossbar are curved upwardly as at 22. In FIG. 2, it will be noted that the corners 24 between the rails 20 and crossbar 21 are rounded and that said side rails converge from the crossbar towards their inner ends where they join the bracing portion 18.

The bracing portion indicated generally at 18 comprises a pair of upturned braces 25 which arevertically disposed and are parallel-to one another. The widely spaced braces 25 are considerably shorter than the elongated side rails 20 and the lower and upper ends 26 and 27 of said braces are rounded as shown best in FIG. 3.

The base portion generally indicated at 19 projects forwardly from the bracing portion 18 in the same direction as the portion 17. In other words, portion 19 is spaced above the portion 17 and overhangs the latter portion for a short distance so that the hanger is substantially U-shaped as shown inFIG. 3. Base portion 19 comprises. a pair of legs 28 which converge from their inner ends, where they are joined to the braces 25, to their outer ends 29, these outer ends being suitably connected together and forming a half circle. As shown best in FIG. 2, the base legs 28 diverge from their outer or connected ends 29 to their inner ends 32 which connect to the braces 25. Thus, the legs 28 define a tapered slot 34 which is open or enterable from the inner ends 32 of the base plate.

Hanger 10 is secured to the shelf 11 preferably by means of a wood screw 38 which is fitted with a washer 39. To mount the hanger 10 in the cupboard, the screw 38 is first driven into the underside of the shelf 11 so that: the vertically disposed screw is spaced about lVzinches from the wall board support 12. The head of the screw 38 is left projecting from the shelf so that the washer 39 is spaced from the underside of the shelf a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the wire which forms the hanger. The hanger 10 is then placed in position by sliding the hanger rearwardly over the screw 38 with the base portion 19 in sliding contact with the underside of the shelf so that said screw enters the tapered slot 34. It will be noted the screwdriver can readily be entered between the side rails 20 to engage the head of the screw 38. When the bracing portion 18 comes into firm contact with the wall support 12, the screw 38 is tightened to clamp the base legs 28 between the washer 39 and the underside of the shelf 11. The hanger 10 is then firmly fastened to the shelf in abutment with the support 12 and will be found to be properly aligned so that the article supporting portion 17 projects outwardly at right angles to said vertical support and substantially parallel to said shelf.

A suitable number of appropriately spaced hangers 10 are mounted in this manner and each of said hangers can support three large cups or mugs 15 which are hung by their handles 16 as shown in FIG. 1. To hang up a cup 15, it is a simple matter to pass the handle 16 over the raised crossbar 21 and on to the pair of side rails 20. Since the rails 20 converge inwardly, the tendency is for the cup to slide therealong towards the support 12 and the raised crossbar 21 helps to prevent the mug from being accidentally dislodged from the hanger. Other cups can be added to the hanger so that they all hang therefrom in side by side relation and occupying a minimum of space.

The weight of the cups 15 on the portion 17 tends to swing this portion away from the base portions 19. The bracing portion 18 however, is firmly in contact with the vertical support 12 and consequently the portion 17 is properly braced against swinging movement away from the portion 19 and the shelf 1 l, the pull exerted on the screw by the base portion 19 being along the longitudinal axis of the screw. At the same time, the braces 25 prevent the hanger from twisting about the vertical or longitudinal axis of the screw 38 as it wouldotherwise tend to do if subjected to a laterally directed blow near the crossbar 21.

When it becomes necessary to wash down or paint the cup board, it is an extremely simple matter to remove the hanger 20. This is done by backing off the screw 38 one or two turns whereupon the hanger 10 can be pulled away from the vertical support 12, so that the screw travels towards the open end of the slot 34 and eventually clears the legs 28. The hanger is then free from the shelf and can be stored elsewhere during painting or cleaning. To replace thehanger in the cleaned or repainted cupboard, the device is moved along the underside of the shelf to reenter the screw 38 in the tapered slot 34. Once the braces 25 are in firm contact with the vertical support 12, the screw 38 is retightened to clamp the hanger once again to the shelf in normal position of use.

From the foregoing, it will be seen' I have provided an extremely simple and effective hanger which is capable of supporting a number of cups in a confined storage space so that they do not take up any more room than absolutely necessary. The hanger enables cups to be stored in the cupboard or removed as required with little likelihood of being damaged. If something brushes against one of the cups, and particularly the outermost cup, the raised crossbar 21 and the inwardly converging side rails 20 tend to keep the cup from being dislodged from the hanger. Thus the hanger is easy to install or remove from the cupboard and is capable of storing cups in a safe and orderly manner. When cups are stored on these hangers, they occupy space right up to the front of the cupboard which is very seldom used when conventional hooks are employed. The cups do not have to be of the same shape or size to hold the maximum amount on a hanger as is the case with other known hangers where the cups have to fit inside one another.

I claim:

I. A hanger from attachment to a horizontal support near a vertical support and comprising a length of wire folded to provide transversely spaced article supporting side rails, a crossbar connecting the outer ends of the side rails, upturned braces at the inner ends of the side rails, base legs extending from the upper ends of the upturned braces substantially parallel to and overhanging the side rails, said base legs converging from the upturned braces to define a tapered slot enterable from the inner ends of the base legs, said tapered slot being adapted to receive a fastening element lodged in the horizontal support to clamp the base legs thereto with the side rails projecting outwardly of the vertical support, said upright braces engaging the vertical support and being spaced one on either side of the fastening element whereby to resist movement of the side rails away from the base legs and to prevent rotation of the hanger about the fastening elements.

2. A hanger as claimed in claim 1, in which said crossbar is disposed above the side rails, and said side rails converge inwardly from the crossbar. 

1. A hanger from attachment to a horizontal support near a vertical support and comprising a length of wire folded to provide transversely spaced article supporting side rails, a crossbar connecting the outer ends of the side rails, upturned braces at the inner ends of the side rails, base legs extending from the upper ends of the upturned braces substantially parallel to and overhanging the side rails, said base legs converging from the upturned braces to define a tapered slot enterable from the inner ends of the base legs, said tapered slot being adapted to receive a fastening element lodged in the horizontal support to clamp the base legs thereto with the side rails projecting outwardly of the vertical support, said upright braces engaging the vertical support and being spaced one on either side of the fastening element whereby to resist movement of the side rails away from the base legs and to prevent rotation of the hanger about the fastening elements.
 2. A hanger as claimed in claim 1, in which said crossbar is disposed above the side rails, and said side rails converge inwardly from the crossbar. 